Trade Marketing Manager

Who we are

Mother Root is the fiery ginger non-alcoholic aperitif. We harness the power of apple cider vinegar to serve up a dose of good feelings. Our mission is to redefine the evening ritual of drinking well and feeling good, with drinks that are complex, delicious and rooted in nature.

We're the UK's fastest-growing drinks brand and the number one non-alcoholic spirit. We were a £7m business last year and we're on track for more than £20m this year. Next we're accelerating that growth, and becoming one of the leading non-alcoholic brands in the US as well as the UK. Small but mighty team, big category, plenty still to build.

We're building a team where ambitious people do the best work of their careers, supporting each other and making something they truly believe in. We believe work should be joyful, purposeful and full of flavour.

The Role

You'll be Mother Root's first dedicated trade marketing hire, shaping how we show up across both off-trade and on-trade.

You'll report into the Head of Brand & Creative (ex-Wild), and work directly alongside our Head of Sales and Head of On-Trade to plan and deliver best-in-class activations and materials, from grocery to pubs, bars and restaurants, that bring new shoppers into the Mother Root brand. Mother Root isn't any other non-alcoholic drink: it's a proper, grown-up drink in its own right, and your job is to get buyers and consumers to see it that way, winning real-world presence everywhere we're stocked or poured, and helping us go from the #1 low & no brand to a genuine contender across the whole BWS category.

You'll own trade and on-trade execution, building the playbook from scratch as we scale from £10m towards £50m+.

What You’ll Do

• Plan and execute activations across retail (off-trade) and on-trade

• Build direct, trusted relationships with category and buying teams across our key retail and on-trade accounts

• Build data-backed, shopper-first stories that win incremental distribution and secure standout placement with major grocery buyers

• Plan and deliver in-store and online retail activation (POS, secondary display, sampling, digital shelf) around key selling moments and NPD launches

• Make Mother Root the go-to non-alc serve everywhere we're stocked or poured, working with on-trade partners on menu presence, staff education and in-venue activation across pubs, bars and restaurants

• Partner closely with the sales team on range reviews, brand days and JBPs arming them with insight-led sell-in materials

• Document the trade marketing budget: track spend and ROI, and measure and report on activation effectiveness, recommending what to scale

• Lead on organising IRL events for our retail and on-trade partners

• Brief Creative to deliver in-store and on-trade assets on time and on brand

• Mine shopper, category and competitor data to spot and unlock incremental space

Your first year

• ROS uplift in the accounts and venues you activate

• Unlocking of incremental display space across our key accounts

• Growth in on-trade venue count: the pubs, bars and restaurants stocking and serving Mother Root

• Growth in distribution points across our key off-trade accounts

• Efficient use of the trade marketing budget, spend tracked against ROI

• Successful NPD launches, backed by buyer-ready narrative that helps sales secure listings

• A genuinely deep understanding of our customer and shopper, feeding real insight back into the wider team

What You’ll Bring

• Previous demonstrable experience in a trade marketing role within FMCG or drinks, ideally with exposure to both off-trade and on-trade

• Understand the nuances of off-trade and on-trade execution

• A track record of winning incremental distribution and shelf/menu space through data-backed narratives, not just flawless execution of someone else's plan

• Genuine customer and shopper insight knowledge, and experience turning it into a narrative that changes buyer decisions

• Strong commercial acumen, comfortable building the numbers behind a pitch: ROI, incrementality, ROS uplift

• Great communication, analysis and project management skills, with full end-to-end ownership of your work

• An eye for the detail that others miss

• Nice to have: experience in a drinks brand

You’ll Thrive Here If You

• Have a growth mindset: you're curious about the world, and it's a winning mentality

• Genuinely enjoy retail and the on-trade, and notice details most people walk straight past

• Thrive in a fast-paced environment, and are happy being hands-on rather than delegating

• Are both strategic and hands-on in execution

• Want to see your work show up in the real world: on shelf, on the bar

How we work

Four values, and we use them to make actual calls.

• Be human. Warmth first, with each other, customers and suppliers. The person stays at the heart of every decision. We're straight when it's hard, and we lean on each other.

• Bring the heat. Energy, hunger, momentum. We're ambitious and we don't settle. We back ourselves and we test and learn rather than get stuck in debate.

• Keep it simple. Fewer things, done properly. The simplest version wins. Simple is harder, that's the point.

• Stay original. We lead, we don't follow. We made the category, and staying original means never stopping there.

Why this is a brilliant job

You'll get to balance your commercial thinking with your brand creativity, and work with a genuinely world-class team to bring activations to life.

✍️ How to apply

Please send us your CV with your answers to the application questions, we look forward to hearing from you!

Benefits & Perks

• Share Options Programme

• Hybrid working: 3 x a week in office (Mon, Tues, Thurs) & 2 from home

• Annual Leave: 25 days per year

• Summer Hours: Early finish Fridays (June–August)

• Work From Anywhere: Up to 2 weeks per year

• Pension: Up to 5% matched contribution

• Cycle Scheme: Bike or Lime/Forest Pass

• Personal Development: £300 annual allowance for approved training

• Wellbeing Support: Access to Spill app & Heka allowance (£40/month) + birthday/work anniversary boosts

• Annual Team Trip: Gastronomical & wellbeing-focused team away trip

• Parental Leave: Competitive maternity/paternity package

• Lots of free Mother Root